We were in Monterey yesterday (5 June 2026) for a concert, but we drove down early to spend a little time along the coast. Here's a nice seascape including a flotilla of sea otters in the kelp offshore from Pacific Grove. [You can click on the photo for a larger version.]
It was another warm day, with temperatures reaching ~65°F on the coast today (3 February 2026). I was checking on a few different things and was seeing quite a bit of insect activity (butterflies, bumblebees, and flies). There was a nice breeze and it felt like one of those days when it would feel nice to take a nap in the sun, and then I happened upon a badger...sleeping in the sun!
The badger looked up for a moment, and looked pretty sleepy:
River Otter in Bodega Harbor, 29 January 2026.
[You can click on the image for a larger version.]
Nice set of River Otter (Lontra canadensis) tracks in soft sand at Point Reyes today (28 November 2025).
Brief view of a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) in Bodega Harbor this morning (17 November 2025).
Nice view of a River Otter along the shoreline of Bodega Harbor this morning (15 October 2025).
When the otter dove, it was calm enough to see bubbles trailing at the surface, offering hints of its route under water:
I stepped outside to stretch and to think about a presentation I'll be giving soon, when movement caught my eye. First, a very small rabbit emerged from the shrubs and went bounding along to the right at a very fast pace and then dove under a different shrub. Hmmph, I thought, I don't often see Brush Rabbits that small, and it was really moving quickly.
I had just started to ponder it, but then another movement caught my eye in the first location...a weasel! The weasel appeared where I had first seen the rabbit, then went bounding along the exact same route, paused, and then dove into the same bush as the rabbit! Now what was going to happen?
Out burst the rabbit, running back in the opposite direction (to the left). And you guessed it, the weasel followed again. But it didn't seem to know where the rabbit had ended up. The weasel kept hunting around the bushes, so although I didn't have a camera with me at first, I still managed two quick photos when I returned. And then both the weasel (and the rabbit) disappeared.
A few moments of excitement! It made me laugh a bit, as it was almost like a cartoon...although maybe not as funny for the bunny, although it did escape! (I'm wondering if this was a juvenile weasel? It looked a little smaller and paler than usual.)
While out early working during the low tide this morning (27 May 2025), we were in the middle of a survey when Eric heard a splash and turned to see a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) swimming not too far away from us. (We were somewhat hidden by a rock.) Eventually the otter caught a large fish and it climbed up onto a rock and starting eating.
Although we only had a point-and-shoot camera, Eric was able to take a short video. I think this is a Striped Surfperch (Embiotoca lateralis), but if you have a different opinion, please let me know! [If you can't see the video player in the e-mail, click on the title of this post above to find the video on the NHBH web page.]
With gratitude for sharing coastal habitats with otter and fish!
I felt very lucky today (25 April 2025) when I noticed a Long-tailed Weasel (Neogale frenata) crossing the road and then spent a few minutes observing it along the Bodega Harbor shoreline.
The weasel was weaving in and out of the rocks, so views were fleeting, but occasionally the weasel would pop up and pause to look around:
I liked the way the color of the weasel's ventral fur (on its throat and belly) matched the color of the lichens on the rocks.
I've gone many years without seeing a badger, so the last few months have felt unusual. A badger has occasionally been spending time within view of where we often eat lunch at work. I posted some photos back in February, but we had nice views this weekend, too, so I thought I'd share a few more. All of the photos were taken from a distance with a large zoom lens and then cropped.
Above, this was our first view of the badger yesterday (20 April 2025). From a distance, I wasn't completely sure what position the badger was in, but when it moved we could see that it had been resting with its head tucked under its chest.
Here's the view when it unfurled and revealed its face (below). (If you go back to the first photo, the white stripe is a continuation of the stripe running from the badger's nose, up and over its head, and onto its back.)
Luck found us again last week with a sighting of an American Badger (Taxidea taxus) napping in the mid-day sun. After a couple of minutes it shook itself and then descended into a burrow. Fortunately, I had a long lens on my camera, so this photo was taken from a distance and then cropped.
Lucky day at work today (25 February 2025)! We were headed outside to eat lunch on the deck when I noticed a very large hill of freshly dug soil...and an American Badger resting right next to it!
The badger mostly spent time lying in the sun, but it looked around a few times, so here are a couple of different views (below). Note: We watched the badger from far away, so these photos are a little misleading. I took them with a large zoom lens and then cropped the photos heavily.
Got lucky and noticed this River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at the north end of Bodega Harbor on my way back from the post office today (14 October 2024). The otter was having a lot of luck, too -- I saw it catch at least three fish in a very short time! Above, with a flatfish...
Below, with some sort of gunnel? (Let me know if you can tell what it is!)
We got lucky with another sighting of a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at a different field site today (24 May 2024), and this one was a little closer, so here are a couple of quick photos.
We were leaving a survey site and this otter appeared just behind us. Luckily, Eric had the point-and-shoot camera in his pocket, so he snapped a photo of the otter as it moved across the rocks towards the water. (These images were heavily cropped.)
In almost no time (less than a minute), the otter was up on the surfgrass (Phyllospadix scouleri) with a fish. Although I shouldn't be surprised anymore, it's hard not to be amazed at how fast they can find and catch a fish!
A distant view, but we don't see River Otters (Lontra canadensis) feeding on Mole Crabs (Emerita analoga) that often, so here's one for the record.
Some people are surprised to hear that River Otters spend quite a bit of time in the ocean (rather than in freshwater habitats). I'm used to seeing them foraging along the rocky coast, but I still feel amazed when they do not hesitate to head out into fairly good-sized swell:
Recent badger digging, with an interesting area in the lower right corner. In that oval patch you can see the soil is very smooth, with a couple of footprints. Perhaps the badger lay down to rest there?
There have been lots of folks fishing for crab off Bodega Head this week.
We observed the injured mother a few times after that initial sighting, but the sightings have become less frequent. I hadn't seen the pups in several weeks, but I encountered them tonight (19 November 2023), so I thought I'd share a "pupdate." If you compare the photos from August, I think you'll see how much the pups have grown.
I'm still keeping an eye out for their mom, but at this time I don't have additional information about her.
